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This article serves as a glossary of the most common terms in classical physics and how they are used. Classical physics is physics based on principles developed before the rise of quantum theory, including the special theory of relativity. ...
Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A - Acceleration - the change in the velocity of an object in time
- Ampère's law - relates a circulating magnetic field to an electric current passing through a loop
- Atom - smallest unit of a chemical element, the limit of classical physics on the small length scales
Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a v-t graph, it is given by the gradient of the tangent to that point In physics, acceleration (symbol: a) is defined as the rate of change (or time derivative) of velocity. ...
An electric current produces a magnetic field. ...
Properties An atom (Greek άτομον from ά: non and τομον: divisible) is a submicroscopic structure found in all ordinary matter. ...
A chemical element, often called simply element, is a chemical substance that canot be divided or changed into other chemical substances by any ordinary chemical technique. ...
B The Boltzmann constant (k or kB) is the physical constant relating temperature to energy. ...
C In mathematics and physics, chaos theory deals with the behavior of certain nonlinear dynamical systems that (under certain conditions) exhibit the phenomenon known as chaos, most famously characterised by sensitivity to initial conditions (see butterfly effect). ...
To do: 20th century mathematics chaos theory, fractals Lyapunov stability and non-linear control systems non-linear video editing See also: Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov Dynamical system External links http://www. ...
A dynamical system is a concept in mathematics where a fixed rule describes the time dependence of a point in a geometrical space. ...
The Butterfly Effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. ...
In physics, classical mechanics is one of the two major sub-fields of study in the science of mechanics, which is concerned with the motions of bodies, and the forces that cause them. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Electrostatic force. ...
Quartz crystal A crystal is a solid in which the constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are packed in a regularly ordered, repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. ...
D - Determinism - classical physics is largely deterministic
Physicists have sometimes used the term determinism in a special way that people such as Karl Popper and Stephen Hawking have called scientific determinism. ...
E An elastic collision is a collision in which the total kinetic energy of the colliding bodies after collision is equal to their total kinetic energy before collision. ...
In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ...
Electrical resistance is a measure of the degree to which an electrical component opposes the passage of current. ...
F - Force - an external cause for acceleration in a physical system
- Free energy - the amount of mechanical work that can be extracted from a system
In physics, a force is an external cause responsible for any change of a physical system. ...
Acceleration is the time rate of change of velocity, and at any point on a v-t graph, it is given by the gradient of the tangent to that point In physics, acceleration (symbol: a) is defined as the rate of change (or time derivative) of velocity. ...
In thermodynamics, free energy is a measure of the amount of mechanical work that can be extracted from a system. ...
G - Gravity - an attractive force between particles with mass
Gravity is the force of attraction between massive particles. ...
H Hamiltonian mechanics is a re-formulation of classical mechanics that was invented in 1833 by William Rowan Hamilton. ...
I - Ideal gas - a gas consisting of identical particles of negligible volume, with no intermolecular forces
- Inertia - a historical concept used for describing massive, moving objects
An ideal gas or perfect gas is a hypothetical gas consisting of identical particles of negligible volume, with no intermolecular forces. ...
In psychology, social inertia describes a persons resistance to change. ...
J - Joule's law - equation for the heat generated by a current flowing in a conductor
Joules law is a physical law expressing the relationship between the heat generated by, and the current flowing in, a conductor. ...
K Kinetic energy is energy that a body has as a result of its speed. ...
L - Lagrangian - a function describing the equations of motion for a system
- Lagrangian mechanics - an abstract reformulation of classical mechanics
- Light - electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength visible to the human eye
A Lagrangian of a dynamical system, named after Joseph Louis Lagrange, is a function of the dynamical variables and concisely describes the equations of motion of the system. ...
Lagrangian mechanics is a re-formulation of classical mechanics introduced by Joseph Louis Lagrange in 1788. ...
Prism splitting light Light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is visible to the eye (visible light) or, in a technical or scientific context, electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength. ...
M - Macroscopic - attribute used for objects and processes observable by the naked eye
- Mass - a measure of the amount of matter
- Maxwell's equations - four equations that describe electric and magnetic fields, and their interaction with matter
- Molecule - a group of atoms koined by chemical bonds
- Momentum - the product of mass and velocity
Macroscopic means measurable and observable by the naked eye; describes existence as we perceive it. ...
Mass is a property of physical objects that, roughly speaking, measures the amount of matter they contain. ...
Maxwells equations (sometimes called the Maxwell equations) are the set of four equations, attributed to James Clerk Maxwell, that describe the behavior of both the electric and magnetic fields, as well as their interactions with matter. ...
A molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ...
A chemical bond is the phenomenon of atoms being held together in molecules, crystals or in solid metal. ...
In physics, momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. ...
N Newtons first and second laws, in Latin, from the original 1687 edition of the Principia Mathematica. ...
Events March 19 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River. ...
The original version of the physical discipline of mechanics, due to Sir Isaac Newton, who developed the theory over a period from about 1664, until the publication of his great work, known as the Principia, in 1687. ...
O - Ohm's law - relationship between the current flowing in a conductor and the voltage difference between its end
Ohms law, named after its discoverer Georg Ohm [1], states that the potential difference or voltage drop (V) between the ends of a conductor and the current (I) flowing through the conductor are proportional at a given temperature: The equation contains the proportionality constant R, which is the electrical...
P Newtons own copy of his Principia, with hand written corrections for the second edition. ...
Sir Isaac Newton, PRS (4 January [O.S. 25 December 1642] 1643 – 31 March [O.S. 20 March] 1727) was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, alchemist, and philosopher associated with the scientific revolution and the advancement of heliocentrism. ...
Events March 19 - The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle murder him while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River. ...
Potential energy is stored energy. ...
Q Fig. ...
R - Resonance - the tendency of a system to absorb more energy at a its resonance frequencyi na given process
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to absorb more oscillatory energy when the frequency of the oscillations matches the systems natural frequency of vibration (its resonant frequency) than it does at other frequencies. ...
S In physics, the adjective semiclassical has different precise meanings depending on the context. ...
In physics, classical mechanics is one of the two major sub-fields of study in the science of mechanics, which is concerned with the motions of bodies, and the forces that cause them. ...
Fig. ...
Special relativity (SR) or the special theory of relativity is the physical theory published in 1905 by Albert Einstein. ...
1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...
Albert Einstein photographed by Oren J. Turner in 1947. ...
Statistical mechanics is the application of statistics, which includes mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the field of mechanics, which is concerned with the motion of particles or objects when subjected to a force. ...
T Temperature is the physical property of a system which underlies the common notions of hot and cold; the material with the higher temperature is said to be hotter. ...
Thermodynamics (from the Greek thermos meaning heat and dynamis meaning power) is a branch of physics that studies the effects of temperature, pressure, and volume changes on physical systems at the macroscopic scale. ...
U The ultraviolet catastrophe, also called the Rayleigh-Jeans catastrophe, was a prediction of early 20th century classical physics that an ideal black body at thermal equilibrium will emit radiation with infinite power. ...
Fig. ...
V - Velocity - the change in the position of an object in time
This article is about velocity in physics. ...
W - Wave - a disturbance that propagates in a periodically repeating fashion, often transferring energy
- Work - the energy transferred to an object by a force
A wave is a disturbance that propagates in a periodically repeating fashion, often transferring energy. ...
Look up work in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
X - X-rays - a form of ionizing electromagnetic radiation
In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz...
Y The modulus of elasticity can also be measured in other units of pressure, for example pounds per square inch (psi). ...
Z
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